Words Left Unsaid
by yabookreader96
Summary: It's Snow Prom season and everyone is a little nervous with last year's tornado fresh in their minds. But no one is more nervous than Hyde, who's taking Jackie to their first official dance as A Couple. The evening quickly takes an ugly turn for the two, and when a blizzard interrupts the festivities, they are only driven further apart. Will their relationship weather the storm?
1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note (1):** This story was written for the _2018 Zenmasters Anthology_ on tumblr.

 **Author's Note (2):** This story takes place during season 5, during the month of January. Two-shot.

* * *

Jackie did what she could to conceal her smile when Steven silently made his way over to the passenger side door to open it for her. But when he awkwardly handed her his jacket to protect her from the light, delicately falling snow, she couldn't help but reach her hand behind his head and place a soft kiss on his cheek.

"You ready?" Jackie gave him the courtesy to work up the courage. She knew that the Snow Prom wasn't exactly his scene, and the fact that they were there together, officially a couple, surely only made him more nervous.

Of course, this wasn't their first dance – literally. But when he'd taken her to his Junior Prom, it had been different. They hadn't been a couple and the student body hadn't been gawking at them all year long. But despite all that, Steven still took her by the hand and escorted her toward the gym.

As they were crossing the threshold into the school gym, Jackie turned and looked behind her once more. The only thing more exciting about her first official school event with Steven as her boyfriend was the fact that it was actually snowing at the Snow Prom, especially after last year's tornado scare. She religiously wore white dresses to this event every year to match the season, so she was thrilled to see the white flakes. She'd been nervous for a while; there was the possibility that the Snow Prom was going to be cancelled, as the weather man promised blistery blizzard conditions by morning, but as for right now, the flakes drifted slow and lazy towards the ground.

Jackie was displeased to encounter a far less serene environment on the inside of the gym. As she and Steven made their way across the floor, everyone in their nearby vicinity shot them the most obvious and rude stares. Jackie could feel Steven's hand instinctively clutch hers tighter. She glanced at him in her periphery. She knew this made him uncomfortable, but he'd agreed to come with her anyway.

As for Jackie, she was annoyed more than anything. She had spent all week campaigning tirelessly for her and Steven to win Snow Prom Queen and King, so there was no reason for their peers to look so shocked to see them walking arm in arm together just because they usually kept the PDA to a minimum while at school.

Steven lifted his hand and pointed across the gym. "There's Forman and Donna," he said.

"Let's go," she replied, and started leading the way over to their friends who were over by the punch bowl.

When Donna sees them, she puts down her cup of punch and smirks in their direction. "Look, Eric. It's our friends."

Eric glanced up and flashed one of his shit-eating grins. "Ah, yes. Please tell me, should we stare at you in awe too?"

"Yeah," Donna laughed. "You two are the biggest thing this school has seen since they started serving mozzarella sticks in the cafeteria."

Steven ignored them and moved over to the punch bowl. Jackie just rolled her eyes. "That's the most – "

She had been about to comment about how ridiculous that was, but something in Donna's words made her think.

"Oh my God, Steven." She clutched his arm. "Did you hear that? We're big news! That means we'll totally win Snow Prom King and Queen!" Jackie released his arm and jumped up and down in place.

"Jackie c'mon." Steven winced.

"What?" Jackie stopped and looked over to her boyfriend. "You don't want to win Snow Prom King and Queen?"

Steven slammed the cup of punch he was holding back on the table. Some of it jumped out of the cup and landed on the floor. Jackie couldm't seem to tear her eyes away from the drop.

"Would you quit it with the King and Queen shit?" Steven raised his voice. Jackie couldn't help but notice a few wandering eyes that turn their way. "All week long! It's stupid and it's not like we're going to win anyway."

Jackie's mouth fell open, but no words found their way to her throat. Finally, Steven's eyes met hers and there was something in them she could not read. Guilt? Annoyance? Frustration?

Either way, there was no finding out. Because the next thing she knew, Steven was walking away.

o-o-o

The guilt grew stronger with each step he took away from Jackie, but despite the nauseating knot growing in his stomach, his feet would not stop carrying him away.

Guilt. He felt guilty for yelling at her. He felt guilty for abandoning her and walking away. But mostly he felt guilty because by choosing him, Jackie would never be able to win anything like Snow Prom Queen. It wasn't Jackie's fault he wasn't popular or in the "it" crowd. He didn't care if he was, but he knew she did. And so fancy titles like this weren't something he could ever give to her, even if he wanted to.

Hyde's feet hadn't stopped moving, and before he realized it, he had made his way to Coach Ferguson's office. He rested his hand on the handle. He had wanted to take up residence here like he had done last year – after all, Coach probably didn't think he'd be stupid enough to do it twice, meaning he likely wouldn't get caught. But, when he glanced down both ends of the hallway to make sure no one saw him, something else grabbed his attention.

The ballot box for Snow Prom King and Queen.

Hyde knew he couldn't help Jackie win with his own charming wit and personality; just the thought made him laugh. But now his feet were carrying him to the box, and he knew that alone in this hallway he could help Jackie win some other way.

o-o-o

Angry didn't even begin to describe how Jackie felt. When Steven first walked away from her, she felt a deep ache blossom into her chest. But now that she'd had a few minutes to think, that ache had turned into a ball of fire.

Donna tapped her on the arm tentatively. "Jackie, are you okay?"

Jackie placed her hands on her hips. "How dare he do that to me? If Steven didn't want to come, he should have just said so instead of coming here just to abandon me."

"I'm sorry, Jackie," Donna said.

Great. Now Donna was pitying her. _Nobody_ pitied Jackie Burkhart. But before Jackie could say anything, Eric was inexplicably tugging on Donna's arm and forcing her to stand behind him.

"What's going on?" Jackie asked, alarmed.

"Nothing, nothing, it's just…" Eric kept his eyes focused on something behind Jackie. He lowered his voice. "It's just that Donna is technically not allowed to be here since she doesn't go to this school anymore. And one of the chaperones just walked by."

"Oh, oh, here," Jackie said. She moved and stood next to Eric. She may not be very tall, but it allowed Donna to hunch over and be blocked better from the crowd.

"Look, Jackie," Eric said. "I think Hyde's just a little uncomfortable about this whole thing. He told me earlier that he didn't think you could win Snow Prom Queen because you were campaigning with _him_ , and I think he feels kind of guilty about that."

Jackie looked up at Eric, surprised by the sincerity in his voice. He continued. "Hyde probably just went to blow off some steam in Coach Ferguson's office. He'll be back." Then he turned around. "Okay, Donna. The coast is clear."

Donna stepped out from behind them, and Jackie took a step back. "Thanks Eric. I'm going to go find him and talk to him."

Eric nodded. "Thanks for helping me hide m'lady." To that response Donna just smiled and shook her head.

Jackie wedged her way through dancing couples over toward the school entrance from the gym. But just as she made it to the clearing in front of the doors, they close and a couple of teachers block her exit.

A crackling noise draws everyone's attention to the stage. Quickly, Jackie joined Eric and Donna so she could better see what was going on. Suddenly, the band is cut off and the principal's voice booms through the microphone.

"Good evening students." His voice is nasally and harsh. "I have an announcement. It seems as though the blizzard has arrived sooner than anticipated and currently, it is a total white-out outside."

The principal paused and Jackie and the other students took this as a cue to glance up at the small and high-set windows near the gym's ceiling. Jackie could feel her eyes widen in surprise. The once delicate snow from earlier this evening now fell in heavy chunks towards the Earth.

The principal continued. "The gym is the only part of the school that has a reinforced roof strong enough to withstand the heavy build-up of snow, so we are on lockdown in this gym until further notice. We will notify all your parents to let them know that you are safe here."

A resounding groan echoed through the room. Sure, it was fun to be here to party for a few hours, but nobody wanted to be here overnight. And if this storm was anything like the other blizzards that hit Wisconsin this time of year, Jackie realized that they may very well be trapped in this gym all night.

"Come on, let's grab a bunch of snacks before everyone else hoards everything," Eric said and grabbed Donna by the hand.

Donna turned to Jackie. "C'mon."

Jackie joined them, not very hungry, but realizing that they may be right. If they were stuck there for a while, then maybe she should stock up now.

Fez and Michael must've had the same idea because they found them over at the snack table, shoving cupcakes and brownies in their mouths.

Donna crossed her arms. "You know guys, you should probably save some of that for later. We could be here a while."

Michael swallowed and turned to Donna. "No way, man. Fez and I are bulking up. We're gonna bust out of this place."

Then, at the exact moment that Michael stopped talking, a loud thud echoed in the distance.

"You hear that Kelso?" Eric said, vaguely gesturing in a random direction. "That was probably a huge tree that just fell somewhere out there. You guys won't make it out there. Even if you _could_ get out."

Michael scoffed and Fez joined him. "Oh, we can _so_ break out of here. And we are, right buddy?" said Michael.

A bickering brawl broke out between the three boys so Jackie turned to Donna. "Hey, I'm going to go see if I can find Steven, okay? I'll be back."

Donna nodded. "Okay, I'll save you guys some food."

Jackie turned, but before she could take a step, the principal barreled past her, making a beeline for the doors that she had tried to escape from earlier. He passed close enough that she could hear his walkie-talkie as someone's voice came through.

"Roof collapse in the West Wing," the voice said. "I think…I think someone is hurt."

 _That's_ what that sound had been. Not a tree. The West Wing roof.

The West Wing roof.

Jackie immediately spun on her heel to ask Donna if she'd heard that. But when she turned around, both Eric and Donna were standing right next to her. And the blanched expressions on their faces told her that they just heard that too. The expression on their faces told her that they were thinking the same exact thing she was thinking.

Eric's words from earlier echoed through her skull. _Hyde probably just went to blow off some steam in Coach Ferguson's office._

Coach Ferguson's office was in the West Wing.


	2. Chapter 2

**Author's Note:** Here's the second (and final) chapter. I hope you enjoy. And please, check out the beautiful artwork both _jacquelineshyde_ and _those70scomics_ from tumblr made for this story! Thanks for reading!

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The ambulance sirens had arrived ten minutes ago, and now Jackie could hear them pick up again as whoever had been hurt was being transported to the hospital.

When Jackie had realized that that person may very well be Steven, her heart had dropped into her stomach and hadn't left. And now all she could do was stare helplessly out the tiny windows near the gym's ceiling, watching as the ambulance turned the falling snow bright red then blue, red then blue, until it disappeared entirely.

The whole gym was now silent. Only Jackie and those near her had heard the announcement on the walkies, but the sound of sirens were impossible to conceal from the entire student body. The band had stopped playing, and although the lights were still low, the cheap disco ball hanging precariously from the ceiling was no longer spinning. Looking around the gym, Jackie noticed the solemn looks on everyone's faces that came with the realization that someone had been hurt.

But she wasn't thinking about that anymore. No. Jackie knew she couldn't accomplish anything sitting here in this cramped gym just worrying about Steven. She had to get out of here. She knew in her heart that it had been Steven carried away in that ambulance and she needed to get to him. She needed to know that he was okay and she needed to tell him everything she hadn't said; that she was sorry and that forfeiting Snow Prom Queen and King was worth it if it meant she got to be with him.

Jackie had been wandering around the gym aimlessly, but now she walked with a purpose over to the corner where Eric and Donna had found a spot to sit against the wall. When her eyes met theirs, they both stood up.

"Eric, I need to borrow the keys to your Vista Cruiser," Jackie said, holding out her hand. She said these words forcefully – without being rude, lest Eric deny her – but forceful enough to express the urgency of the situation and that there was no room for argument.

Wordlessly, Eric pulled the keys out of his pocket. Jackie knew that Eric knew better than to warn her that the road conditions were dangerous. That was obvious. He handed her the keys, and despite the ashen look on his face, attempted to crack a joke. To ease the tension, Jackie supposed.

"I guess you're going to want to borrow the Vista Cruiser then, too?" He joked feebly.

Not having the heart or the energy to roast him for his bad joke, Jackie just nodded. She and Steven had come to the Snow Prom in the Camino, and Hyde had the keys. Now that Jackie had wheels, she just had to find her way out.

Reading her thoughts, Donna stepped forward to whisper to Jackie. "How do you plan on getting out of here?"

Jackie scanned the gym. The chaperones were dispersed across the floor, but most were clustered near the entrances, and nobody was standing at the locker room doors. Jackie knew if she could get to the locker rooms she could escape. From the girl's locker room, you could access one of the gym's storage closets that conveniently had an exit to the outside of the school. The students weren't supposed to know about this door, but Jackie and a couple of the other cheerleaders had discovered it sophomore year. Jackie was willing to bet that nobody would be guarding that door.

Jackie quietly explained all this to Donna and Eric. When she was finished, Donna reached for her. "Jackie, just… please be safe."

Jackie nodded fervently. "I promise." She was thankful to have Donna and Eric's support on this, rather than the two of them trying to convince her to stay, especially since there was nothing they could say to convince her to.

With a parting glance to her best friend, Jackie began to make her way across the gym to the locker rooms. She did her best to walk casually, and to look as though she weren't heading anywhere with a purpose. When she spotted Michael and Fez, she gave them a wide berth, worried that if they saw her they might draw attention to her. Fortunately, they were taking turns sipping from a flask and didn't even look up when she walked by.

Once Jackie was close to the locker room doors, she pushed her back up against the wall and pretended to adjust her heel. But really, she was checking to see if anyone, students and teachers alike, was looking in her direction. Then she pulled open the door just wide enough so she could slip inside.

She didn't bother turning on the lights. Two and a half years of changing into her cheerleading uniform in this room meant she could navigate it pretty well in the dark. Jackie rested her palm against the painted cinderblock wall and slowly made her way over to the storage closet. The only sound was the clicking of her heels on the floor. Well, that and her pounding heart, which was now in Jackie's throat.

In the dark, Jackie's hand met the door handle of the storage closet. It opened quietly, but a half-second later three basketballs jumped off a lopsided shelf. One smacked her in the leg, the other two banged against the lockers.

Jackie went very still. In the darkness, that sound had been deafeningly loud and she worried that people standing nearby the locker room in the gym might've heard. Jackie could feel her pulse race, and with a sudden wave of nausea, she was forced to crouch down to the floor and steady her breathing.

And suddenly it hit her. She had been consumed with the task of escaping, but now with it so close, thoughts of Steven flooded her mind. With every passing minute she was more and more certain that it was Steven who had been injured by the collapsed roof. If he had been safely in the gym, he would've found her by now. Or at the very least, he would've found Eric, Fez, or Michael. And with that realization came the overwhelming feeling of the unknown. How seriously had he been hurt? Was it life-threatening? Jackie knew she was getting carried away, but that tended to happen to her when she didn't have all the details.

Reminding herself of her purpose here, escape, she opened her eyes and stood up from her crouched position with renewed energy. Having been in the locker room this long now, her eyes had adjusted to the dark, and Jackie could make out a clear path in the storage closet to the door that lead to the outside. Without another thought, she undid the deadbolt and slipped outside into the freezing snow.

The parking lot was around the corner, so Jackie quickly began her treck to find Eric's car. The snow was heavy and wet, and she mentally cursed herself for wearing strappy heels tonight, especially with the snow accumulating up past her ankles. She wished she'd thought to bring a coat too, but she'd never imagined this night would've ended up like it did. Prepared, Jackie was not, and she quickly realized this when she turned the corner of the parking lot and found dozens of cars made identical by the blanket of snow covering each and every one of them.

For what felt like the next several hours, but was probably no more than one hour, Jackie moved from car to car, wiping off snow until she found Eric's Cruiser. When she eventually found his car, she used what strength she had left to wipe as much snow off the roof, hood, and windows, then fell into the front seat and blasted the heat.

Jackie sat still for a moment, feeling her body begin to thaw and her pulse begin to slow. Both her arms were completely numb and she couldn't even bend her fingers around the steering wheel. She moved her feet around, but they had lost feeling and she couldn't tell if she was even touching the gas pedal. She managed to turn on the windshield wipers to stop the still-falling snow from reaccumulating.

Slowly, feeling began to return to her fingers and toes. Pain shot through each of her fingers as her nerve endings regained function and screamed at her for putting her body through this wretched weather. Biting her tongue and swallowing the pain, Jackie finally put the car into drive.

What was probably Jackie's first sign of luck was the condition of the roads. Heavy snow may lead to a roof collapse, but it also packed down easily under tires, making the drive to the hospital not necessarily less dangerous, but at least possible.

What was normally a fifteen-minute drive from the school took Jackie 45 minutes to get to the hospital. She breathed a sigh of relief when she made it inside a snow-free parking garage and found a spot near the ER entrance. She hurried inside. Drenched in a prom dress, she immediately got lots of stares, not much unlike those from her peers at the dance this evening. It was getting old. Despite the attention she obviously drew, no one bothered to ask her if she needed any help.

There was one place Jackie knew she could get information. She made her way to the nurse's station. A young woman sitting behind the desk glanced up. Her name tag read 'Sherry' and she asked Jackie what she needed help with.

"Is Mrs. For – I mean, is Nurse Forman working tonight?" Jackie blurted.

Sherry nodded. "I think I've seen her around. Let me page her," she said.

Jackie takes a step to the side to wait. She glances up at the clock over the nurse's station. It was a quarter to midnight. The dance had been officially over for forty-five minutes now, but Jackie was certain that they were all still packed in the gym. It was still heavily snowing when she'd gotten here.

Breaking her from her thoughts, Sherry tapped her on the shoulder. "Nurse Forman will be here in just a minute. Can I offer you a blanket?"

Jackie took the blanket eagerly and sat in the waiting room down the hall that Sherry told her Nurse Forman would meet her at. She had been waiting no more than five minutes when Kitty arrived.

"Jackie?" she said, surprise lacing her voice.

"Steven." That was all Jackie could manage past her lips.

Mrs. Forman gave Jackie a look she couldn't read. Jackie couldn't tell if it was a good or bad look, but she stood up from her chair, wrapping the blanket tighter around her shoulders.

"I suppose I shouldn't be surprised that you found your way here," Mrs. Forman says.

Jackie knew what this meant. "It was Steven, wasn't it?"

Mrs. Forman barely nods, and Jackie felt her knees weaken. She sat back down before she fell to the floor.

"Jackie, honey," Kitty hurriedly sat next to her. "Steven is okay, I promise you." She paused for a moment. "You don't know what happened, do you?"

Jackie let Mrs. Forman wrap her arms around her. Sha managed to shake her head.

"He has a concussion and a couple stitches in his hand, that's all." Mrs. Forman patted Jackie's shoulder. "Come on, I'll take you to see him."

o-o-o

Hyde's head throbbed and his hand ached from where it had been stitched up. The monitor above his head beeped steadily, and each beep felt like a knife slicing into his skull. Every time he closed his eyes, he flashbacked to his last moment of consciousness before arriving here.

Hyde had been on his way back to the gym. He'd made the conscious decision to forgo lightin' up in Coach Ferguson's office, and had stuffed the ballot box with Jackie's name instead. He hadn't bothered with his own – nobody would believe Hyde had won Snow Prom King without a little help.

Just past Coach Ferguson's office, Hyde had stepped in a small puddle of water, unbeknownst to him. He'd slipped, and before he could catch his balance, his head had crashed into the floor. The wind had been knocked out of him, and when he sat up, white spots clouded his vision. He'd stood, and despite the throbbing of his head, he was aware enough to hear the cracking from above. Instinctively he'd stepped back. In retrospect, Hyde realized that it was a damn good thing he had, because otherwise this could've ended a lot worse than it did.

He'd come to in the ambulance. The paramedic told him he had a fairly severe concussion and would need a couple stitches in his hand, but he'd be just fine. A couple days home from school would do the trick. The paramedic had explained to him that he had been found unconscious after getting pushed down by the fallen snow. He'd been lucky; no part of the building's fallen structure had hit him, aside from whatever had cut him on the hand.

And despite all he'd just been through, Hyde could only think of Jackie. He was pissed. Not at her, but at himself. Of course when he was trying to fix things for Jackie, he'd only made it worse. And he could only imagine how pissed she'd be at him too for ruining this night.

Then, as if on cue, Mrs. Forman pulled the curtain aside to reveal Jackie, hair drenched and covered in a blanket, standing just behind her. Jackie watched him silently, something unreadable in her eyes, and her lips were pressed together tightly in a line.

"Steven," Mrs. Forman said softly. "Dr. Evans wants to keep you overnight for observation. Not that you could drive home safely in your condition or in this weather anyway."

Hyde nodded.

"Okay, then." Mrs. Forman said after a long moment. This was followed by one of her signature chuckles, but she kept it quiet and soft, aware that Hyde's concussion was taking a toll on him. "I'll just give you two a minute, then."

Once Mrs. Forman leaves, Jackie let out a heavy sigh. She took a few steps and sat on the side of his bed. Hyde immediately noticed that her dress was as wet as her hair was, and he realized that he had no idea how she'd gotten here.

"I'm just glad you're okay," Jackie said solemnly. "Steven, when I realized that – " her voice cracked. "I rushed over here to see you. It took me forever to drive her and, God, Steven just…"

Hyde silently watched her struggle to find words. He felt something tug at his chest. This was a new experience for him. For as long as he could remember he was only responsible to himself. It was now occurring to him that being with Jackie meant he was responsible to her too. It had never occurred to him that she'd put herself at such risk for him. Nobody had ever done that. It didn't make sense.

"Just, never do that again. Get hurt. Okay? Please?" Jackie's voice trembled. "I was so worried about you."

Hyde still didn't understand. He knew the concussion made it hard for him to concentrate and focus, and he was getting mad a himself and his inability to understand.

"Jackie, you…you came here to find me in this blizzard?" Hyde asked. "Why would you do something like that?"

o-o-o

"Why would you do something like that?" Steven's question echoed in Jackie's mind.

"Isn't it obvious?" Jackie blurted.

She thought about how worried she'd been and how she'd needed more than anything to just know that Steven was okay. Maybe she'd been with Steven for only a few months now, but she was starting to realize that in that time, Steven had come to mean more to her than either one of them had realized.

Steven was just staring at her. "Because I…" Jackie faltered. "I care about you."

Jackie watched the tension and confusion dissipate from Steven's face. He swallowed. "Yeah, I know." He reached down and grabbed her hand. "I'm sorry."

Jackie could only nod, because she was suddenly speechless. All she could manage to do was squeeze his hand tighter. She couldn't manage to push any words past her throat.

Because just now, she'd almost said something else entirely. She'd almost said _Because I love you._


End file.
